You have to admit that Elon Musk is kind of leading us into the future, isn’t he? With both Tesla and the Boring Company, he is taking technology and giving us new ways to travel. Tesla is also in the energy game through their battery packs, but they also have to come up with ways of charging their cars. Becuase why buy a Tesla if you can’t find a place to charge it? That said, they do have a pretty good track record when it comes to making their chargers more accessible. But they definitely need to improve this aspect of their business.
One of the ways that it plans to do this is by launching yet another charging program. But this time – it’s for your office. While I am completely on board with this, I do wonder how likely businesses are going to buy into this idea. This actually came up during a Department-wide meeting where I work. At one of our facilities, which is located in a downtown, urban center, we have some electric car charging stations. Which is great news, however, as a public servant this is kind of an issue. Why you ask? Well, who is paying for these stations? To start the city installs the station, and unless there is any kind of funding or grants available, that is paid for by the city. Which comes directly out of the tax base.
Now, I think there is a great benefit to this, but the questions need to be asked. Should it cost money to the car owner, if they want to charge their car? Maybe, maybe not. I don’t think this is something that has a good and quick answer. But as I said in a previous post around city infrastructure, I think this is a consideration that has to be made. Tesla is proposing providing employers and commercial property managers with free Tesla Wall Connectors. They will also install those in company parking lots for free. But it’s not really “free” to the employer as someone is paying for the electricity.
Even if it is a private company, they have to weigh the pros and cons of whether they should be providing this service to their employees free of charge. I do think it’s a great incentive and will help attract more people to your company, but I think that we need to have these conversations now. While Tesla’s Destination program installs chargers in restaurant, hotel and resort parking lots that anybody can use, the Workplace program focuses on company employees. To conclude, I will leave you with a statement on this from Tesla:
“As Tesla’s fleet continues to grow, it is more important than ever for our customers to be able to easily charge their cars where they park. The most convenient way to charge is to plug in overnight at home, and for most people, this is all that is needed. For others, such as those who live in an apartment, Tesla is introducing its new Workplace Charging program. Charging at work is simple and convenient, just plug in and your car is charged by the time you’re done for the day.
For qualified employers or commercial property managers who choose to provide an EV charging option, Tesla will review, donate their Tesla Wall Connectors and provide installation assistance. Energy costs will be the responsibility of the property.”
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